Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays 7-23-2018

Pick, Prediction, & Preview:

Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays

Game 1 of a 3-game set between the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays will take place at Rodgers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Monday night beginning at 7:07 pm EST. Currently, the Blue Jays are in 4th place within the AL East division while the Minnesota Twins are in 2nd place within the AL Central behind the Cleveland Indians. In their last outing, the Minnesota Twins were 11-7 winners over the Tampa Bay Rays at home on 7-15-2018. Minnesota had 10 hits in this matchup as Eddie Rosario was 3-5 with 2 RBI’s while Brian Dozier was 2-6 with 5 RBI’s in the victory. Fernando Romero was bailed out with the no decision as he pitched 4.1 innings while allowing 4 runs on 10 hits with an ERA of 4.69 while Ryne Stanek also received the no decision as he went 2 innings while allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 3 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.08 for the game. The Rays’ Jesus Sucre was 3-5 with 3 RBI’s in the loss. The Twins would go on to drop game 1 of a 3-game set against the Royals on 7-20-2018 by a 6-5 score.

The Blue Jays were 5-2 losers at Fenway to the Boston Red Sox on 7-15-2018 where the Red Sox cashed in on the money line as favorites (-144) while the under being the play with runs being set at a total of 10 for the game. Teoscar Hernandez was 1-3 with 2 RBI’s in the loss while Randal Grichuk was 2-4 for the night. Marcus Stroman (5-7) took the loss for the blue Jays as he lasted 5 innings while allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 4 strikeouts with an ERA of 5.86. Brian Johnson received the no decision for the Sox as he pitched 4.2 innings while allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, 1 homer, and 5 strikeouts with an ERA of 4.20. Brock Holt went 2-3 for the Red Sox with 2 RBI’s while Xander Bogaerts went 1-4 also with 2 RBI’s in the victory. Toronto would post an 8-7 home victory over the Baltimore Orioles on 7-20-2018 to start the second half of the season on a winning note.

Minnesota Twins's Latest Performance :

The Minnesota Twins come into this game winners of 3 of their last 5 games to where the O/U was 4-1. Recently, the Twins would win a 3-game home set versus the Royals while following this up with a 4-game home win versus the Tampa Bay Rays on 7-15-2018. Nonetheless, they would begin the 2nd half of season play on the losing end dropping the opener of a 3-game road set to the Royals by a 6-5 score on 7-20-2018.

For the season, the Twins are averaging 4.52 runs per game (12th) with a team batting average of .245 (17th), 98 homers (23rd) along with 31 stolen bases (27th). Their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.53 (22nd) with 850 strikeouts (11th) along with 40 quality starts on the year (19th).

Eduardo Escobar (.272 BA on 346 AB), Joe Mauer(.275 BA on 247 AB), Max Kepler (.227 BA on 326 AB), and Brian Dozier (.227 BA on 370 AB) have been consistent within the Twins offense this season; However, Eddie Rosario (.310 BA on 381 AB) has been instrumental in their offensive attack as well.

Toronto Blue Jays's Latest Performance :

The Blue Jays are losers of 3 of their last 5 games to where the O/U was 2-3. On 6-3-2018, the Jays would tie a 2-game road set versus the Atlanta Braves on 7-11-2018. They would lose a 4-game road set in their following series to the Boston Red Sox on 7-15-2018 to end the first half of the 2018 season. They would come out strong offensively, however, in winning game 1 of a 3-game home set versus the Baltimore Orioles by an 8-7 score on 7-20-2018.

For the season, the Toronto Blue Jays are averaging 4.49 runs per game (14th) with a team batting average of .238 (24th), 129 homers (6th) along with 29 stolen bases (29th). Their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.55 (23rd) with 812 strikeouts (19th) along with 35 quality starts on the season (25th).

Pitcher JA Happ (10-6, 109 IP, 60 R, 95 H, 17 HR, 35 BB, 121 SO with an ERA of 4.29) has been the most consistent pitcher for the Blue Jay’s bullpen this year.

How Minnesota Twins & Toronto Blue Jays Matchup.

Vegas Odds, Offshore Odds, & Odds ATS:

For the season, the Twins are 53-42 ATS while the O/U is 47-53-3. On the other hand, the Blue Jays are 45-51 ATS while the O/U is 46-44-6.

In-Depth Analysis of each team:

No pitchers for the Twins have been announced, however, the pitchers for games 1 & 2 for the Blue Jays have been named with Marco Estrada (4-7) getting the start in the opener. Estrada has pitched solid lately in that he is only credited with 7 runs on 14 hits in his last 4 while the team is 3-2 in his last 5 appearances. The under is 4-3-1 in his last 8 outings. In his last appearance on the mound, Estrada pitched .1 innings while allowing 2 runs on 1 hit and a homer in an 8-6 home win versus the lowly Mets on 7-3-2018. In his last outing versus the Twins, Estrada was atrocious in pitching 5 innings while allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 homers, yet, the Jays picked up a 7-4 road win on 5-1-2018.

Ryan Borucki (0-1) will face the Minnesota Twins for the first time when he takes the mound on Tuesday in game 2 of this 3-game set. In his last outing, Borucki pitched 3 innings while allowing 7 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 5 strikeouts in a 13-7 road win versus the Boston Red Sox on 7-13-2018. The left-hander is credited with 9 earned runs on 27 hits in his last 4 games while the team is 1-4 his last 5 appearances on the mound. The under has been the play in 3 of his last 4 starts. Aside from his last start, the Jays have only put up 3 runs on support in his prior 3 outings. In all, Borucki possesses an ERA of 3.52 for the season.

Against The Spread Selection: Games 1 & 2: Minnesota Twins

My reason for the pick :

Despite the nagging injuries to Estrada this year along the Borucki’s troubles at the mound in his last few outings, I feel as though the Jays certainly possess some momentum going into this interesting series at Rodgers Centre. They have continued to compete despite the continuing noise concerning trade rumors associated with many of their big-name players. In all, the Jays have lost 3 of their last 9, yet, will look to build upon their current momentum in which to sneak out a series win versus the Twins, who have certainly been inconsistent on the road losing 8 of their last 9 games. Nonetheless, the Twins have played decent lately in winning 4 of their last 6 to end the 1st half of season play. With that being said, I am sure that the Jays will come out and perform well in this series, however, the Twins, due to their recent success, will perform even better in getting a win in the first 2 matchups of this series.

Totals Selection: Game 3: Over

My reason for the prediction :

The over has been the result for both teams in 10 of their last 13 games and with the Jays pitching staff surrendering 40 runs in their last 6 outings while the Twins giving up 46 runs during this time, I will be riding the wave of yet another matchup amongst 2 teams that have been very generous lately at the mound. In all, take the over for game 3 as judging by recent outings, these pitching staffs are no strangers to committing errors at the plate that lead to runs.

Betting trends for Minnesota Twins:

Betting Trends for Minnesota Twins

The Twins are 11-10 in last 21 games

The Twins are 1-8 in last 9 road games

The Over is 5-4 in Twins last 9 road games

Betting trends for Toronto Blue Jays:

Betting Trends for Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are 4-9 in last 13 games

The Blue Jays are 4-5 in last 9 home games

The under is 6-4 in Blue Jays last 10 home games

Falepa

A sports analyst and enthusiast, Filipa enjoys writing articles for NHL, NBA, NCAAB, and, of course, for NCAAF. In addition, he enjoys the true art of breaking down games in such as way as to locate certain trends that can impact future contests. With a willingness to research, construct, and relay information that any reader can understand, Filipa aims to provide the reader with interesting & indepth knowledge for upcoming sporting events.